Q-Speakers - December 11, 2009

The Q-Speakers are a new speaker system to come out designed with the best sound quality in mind. They are hand-crafted in New Zealand wood and have a reflective audio system designed by The Red Hot Chili Peppers sound engineer Dave Levine. The speakers look great and are crafted from real wood only from sustainable forests and no veneers. They have limited editions on their page crafted from special woods for the low price of $1600, which is worth it if you really care that much I suppose. The speaker uses highly efficient Class D amplification to deliver 60W of sound and include hidden speakers that produce 360 degrees of beautiful music. This is something I really like seeing. Not only do they care about how it looks, they care about it's functionality and what really matters; the sound. Their sound is meant to be top notch, and for that price you wouldn't expect anything less. They've already almost sold out completely, they had 20 listed, and it looks like they don't plan on making more any time soon. Hopefully someone else in this business, besides Bose, sees this and takes this to heart. This is what it should be about.

Plaza del Torico LED Lamp Road - December 11, 2009

This is a picture of The Plaza del Torico in Tereul, Spain. It was recently renovated and 1230 color changing LED lamps were embedded in the pavement. The system can be programmed to change colors and patterns in sequence. While it may look like an eyesore to some, this is a big step in bringing a historical part of Europe into the Modern Age. This is one of the most important plazas in Spain, including a festival in the spring where they parade bulls through the street, with this plaza being the highlight. Now they have a chance to sync the lights up to the rhythm of the music they're playing and make it look more festive than ever. You can see the same thing in some amusement parks, light-up paths. There's also the roads that play music when you drive over them. How long will it be until we get a holographic projection to leap out of the pavement to scare you? Technology is advancing rapidly and becoming a staple in even the oldest locations. It's a good thing we have great designers to put these technologies to use.

Flower Vases - December 11, 2009

Well I was going through Gizmodo when I saw this new skinny flower vase and thought it looked interesting. It's very simple in design, but the kicker is that no matter what it'll stand up; even when it should fall over. Oh, I forgot to mention you need to keep the magnetic base under it though, preferably under the tablecloth. I don't know if they thought ahead, but it probably wouldn't look all that impressive on a glass table with no cloth. The design is still pretty darn slick, but nothing to go crazy about. This made me want to look at some other designs for flower vases, and I came across the one on the left in a google image search. All it is is the outline of a vase, but it's the vase itself. It's not real or anything but it's still a really cool concept. Then of course there's still the good old vase with the wide round base with a rustic design around it, and it works just as great depending on it's surroundings. What would be crazy to see would be a hanging garden deal, but with a vase-like structure. The vases wouldn't have to consist of a long trellis to hold it up, but could be made simple for a normal household by just mounting it in or something. I don't know, I looked around and couldn't find anything so maybe it's not such a great idea after all.

Liquor Bottle Designs - December 11, 2009

Liquor comes in all shapes and sizes nowadays, and they're all relevant to what's inside. Usually liquor in one standard looking bottle with the wide base that skinnies out near the top. They always have a smaller end so you aren't pouring out a gigantic amount at a time. Most are made of glass but plastic is starting to make a big leap lately, especially in the cheaper to mid-range liquor like Early Times or Smirnoff. There are some crazy variations from the normal liquor bottle, though, like the one above. It's called Crystal Skull and it's Dan Akroyd's signature vodka. Yes, Dan Akroyd. Obviously it costs more because of the design and the fact that it's Akroyd's, but it's definitely worth the money. Not only does the bottle look good and impressive, it tastes good. That's usually what you get when you buy something that stands out or looks different from other liquors. Crown is another great example with it's signature purple bag that gives of a sense of royalty. The design causes it to sell like hotcakes, but the liquid also backs it up. That doesn't mean all great designs mean great tastes, but if they care that much about their design then you can be sure they care about what's inside it.

Keyboard Design - December 9, 2009

I figured I may as well include this along with mouse. Like the mice designs, the keyboard can range from standard black keyboard with white letters, or vice versa, to detachable keyboards with lights coming out of every key. Most keyboards are a straight design with the standard QWERTY key setup, with variations coming in the insert and side number area. The next most popular in the ergonomic keyboard which aims to relieve stress on the wrist and hand by setting up the keyboard in a sort of curve that is natural to your positioning. There are others who are taking that a step further like Nicholas Tavas who designed the crazy contraption up above. Like the mouldable mouse, he makes it so that the user can customize their setup to another level. The split down the middle allows for more or less curve depending on how you're used to typing. The split also causes much less bend in the elbows reaching a near perfect setup ergonomically. There are too many variations of the regular keyboard so I won't get too far into it, but this is just one example of someone taking a basic design and going to another level with it. It's things like this that cause the change the industry needs.

Computer Mouse Design - December 9, 2009

Computer mice also come in many shapes in forms now. They range from the regular 2 button scroll wheel mouse to the mouse that you can mold yourself(above). While the regular mice get the job done, they may not be the most comfortable thing in the world to use, and may not be as efficient as you would like. There are mice made specifically for ergonomics, as ugly as they might be, that people really love using. The mouse up above is a Mouldable Mouse from Lite-On Technology and is designed so that the user can design it in any way they want. They understand not everybody works the same way and they give you the option to mold the mouse to your liking and then attach the buttons and scroll wheel afterwards. Some mice also make photo editing easier with side buttons and a magnification button. There are mice that have extra buttons that you can customize yourself to do whatever you want, which can be used to make EVERYTHING you do more efficient. They've gotten to the point where there isn't too much more they can do with the mouse besides cosmetic upgrades or built-in hand cooler. There is also the possibility of adding gyroscopic motion in again, it has been done before, but it would require an amount of adapting and learning by the user. There are many possibilities, but there is always the chance that a new control scheme could come out of nowhere.

Computer Case Design - December 9, 2009

Computer case design can range from a very basic flat black color with a logo, to something as crazy as the one above. It's something not too many people pay attention or know is possible either. They assume that it's either going to stand up or lay sideways, and will ALWAYS be in the shape of a rectangle. Most people also don't see custom designs and artwork people put on their cases either, it's just not something that's toted very loudly. There may be reasons for the different designs past looking cool though. This computer case design is meant to open up the user to see how a computer looks without all the plastic covering it, and it offers an amazing cooling solution because of the fact that the heat doesn't get trapped. That's the beauty of making a custom case or designing the layout of it, you can come across new techniques of cooling or efficiency that isn't seen in the regular stock case. It may cost you a little bit more, but sometimes it's worth it.